The present invention relates to a device for the support of and holding in position the leg of a horse or other hoofed animal for care of the animal, for example, while a farrier removes and/or replaces a horse shoe or trims a hoof.
The horse's hoof is comprised of a layer of horn material or material similar to a human fingernail that grows from the base of the foot and protects the front of the foot. The hoof consists of a hardened outer region and a more sensitive middle area. As in a human fingernail, the outer hoof is devoid of nerve endings and therefore the animal does not experience pain when a horseshoe using appropriately sized and positioned nails is nailed to the hoof. Domesticated horses are shod with a horseshoe sometimes formed from steel or iron material, sometimes with a thin resilient or rubber material embedded to provide cushioning. Horseshoes have been applied for centuries with the purpose of protecting the horse's hoof and allowing the horse to gallop and bear weight more comfortably. Horseshoes need to be replaced from time to time. The American Farrier's Association lists a typical time interval between reshoeing of between 6 to 10 weeks. Many times in this process the hoofs may need to be trimmed back to provide the horse a more natural way of going and because the outer portion of the hoof is always growing. When a horseshoe has been removed, if the horse's hoofs are undamaged and healthy, a replacement horseshoe might be fitted the first time. In other cases however, the horseshoe may need to be modified to place the horsenail holes in a better location for attachment to the hoof's outer region or to modify the shape of the shoe to more closely match the shape and condition of the horse's hoofs. For such cases a farrier often brings a portable forge to the location where the horse is to be shod and reworks the shoe on site. A horse shoe, once in condition for attachment to the hoof, is secured to the hoof of a horse by a farrier driving horsenails through openings in the horse shoe into the outer region of the horse's hoof. This is done, as one might expect, by the use of a specialized hammer which a farrier swings and drives against the head of the horsenail to drive the nail into the horse's hoof. As can be understood from this general discussion, reshoeing a horse or other hoofed animal can be an uncomfortable and stressful time, both for the animal and for the farrier.
Roger Clark, a farrier, claims that shoeing a heavy horse is hard work, but ill-trained horses are much harder. Farrier's commonly shoe the rear hoof of a horse by standing behind the horse with the farrier's back to the horse, then raising the foot of the horse between the farrier's legs and cradling the leg and hoof on the farrier's legs. This is uncomfortable for the horse which must now stand on three legs and is uncomfortable for the farrier who must work in a hunched over position on the foot of a horse that may be ill behaved and that may be less than pleased about what is about to take place. As can be understood, this can be a dangerous task if the horse is uncomfortable and becomes restless.
One limitation of the conventional means of shoeing a horse by the farrier hunching over and supporting the horse's foot between his legs is that the shoeing task is uncomfortable to the horse and to the farrier.
Another limitation of the conventional means of shoeing a horse is the issue of safety. With the farrier having his back to the horse and the opportunity for the horse to misbehave during the task, an injury can occur to the farrier, an injury the farrier may not see coming.
Therefore, a device which supports the horse's foot and hoof in position during shoeing, that permits the farrier to stand unencumbered without the need to support and hold the horse's foot in position, a device that provides comfort to the animal during the shoeing process and reduces the chance of injury to a farrier would be useful and novel.